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karinlib's review
3.0
Interesting story of an Olympic Gold Medalist. I have always thought it odd that they gave the Karolyis complete power over the U.S. Women's Gymnastics Team, and allowing them to hand pick the team, rather than fairly competing at the trials, like any other National team.
I particularly enjoyed learning about Moceanu's family life, and I am so glad she shared it with us.
I particularly enjoyed learning about Moceanu's family life, and I am so glad she shared it with us.
alboyer6's review
4.0
I will not look at US women's gymnastics the same way again (especially the Karolyis). A really interesting look into American gymnastics and the life of Dominique Moceanu. Between mental and physical pressure from her father and from the Karolyis, I am amazed she survived and became the champion she is. Good book, glad I read it.
reddyrat's review
4.0
Off Balance is a must read book for any gymnastics fan and especially for anyone who loved the Magnificent Seven's gold medal win in Atlanta. I enjoyed watching Dominique hop onto the national stage at 13 and then leap into the world's hearts at 14 (although I was always irritated that she stole the limelight from my beloved Shannon Miller). Dominique is only a week younger than I am and her life seemed so much fuller and charmed than mine. It was definitely fuller, but charmed it was not.
Dominique tells in great detail her years of suffering under her brutish, abusive father and the Karolyis, who made her father seem gentle. In fact, she is so negative towards the Karolyis that I would think her story to be exaggerated if we hadn't all heard these same dark rumors from other gymnasts. Nothing Dominique could ever do was good enough for Bela and Marta. She didn't work hard enough, she made mistakes, she was weak. And according to Dominique, they weren't even her primary coaches. They hired other coaches to do the day to day work and then fired them before the Olympics so they could get the glory for being a champion's coach.
If you're looking for gossip about the other team members of the Magnificent Seven, you won't find it here. She talks briefly about the other members, but doesn't have any good stories. She did seem to particularly like Jaycee Phelps, Amanda Borden, and Kerri Strug. She was careful not to say anything bad about anyone. Too bad. I wanted stories. I was surprised to realize how isolated she was from the other members of the Olympic team. The Karolyis kept a tight rein on Dominique and Kerri. Plus, being four or more years younger than the rest of the team set her apart.
While I was disappointed by the lack of gymnast gossip, the book vividly described her training and her experience at the Olympics. What seemed like a magical time to the viewers was terrifying to Dominique who knew that - gold medal or not - her father and the Karolyis would only see the slight imperfections of her performance. I cringed through large parts of the book, because Dominique's childhood was so nightmarish.
With all the difficulties of her life, this book could have been full of self-pity, but it wasn't. It was a reflection of a young woman who has come to terms with her past and moved on. She is able to successfully separate her love of gymnastics from the people who made it difficult. She has managed to come to peace with her father but still realizing that his actions were horribly wrong. The Karolyis and USA Gymnastics are the only continued sources of bitterness for Dominique that I noticed.
A good portion of the book deals with Dominique's recent discovery that she has a sister she never knew about. When she was 6 her mother gave birth to a baby with no legs. Unable to care for the little girl, Dominique's parents gave her up for adoption. Dominique tells the story of her sister Jennifer with glowing adulation. While Jennifer seems like a fabulous girl who has thrived despite her physical challenges, I really didn't care. I wanted to know more about Dominique. I did think it interesting that Dominique realized that Jennifer had a much happier childhood than she did by being raised in a different family.
I highly recommend Off Balance for gymnastics fans. It could have used a bit more gossip and a bit less information about Dominique's new-found gossip, but it was still full of inside gymnastics info and gave me a clear look at the difficult life of a very successful girl.
Rating: 4 / 5
Dominique tells in great detail her years of suffering under her brutish, abusive father and the Karolyis, who made her father seem gentle. In fact, she is so negative towards the Karolyis that I would think her story to be exaggerated if we hadn't all heard these same dark rumors from other gymnasts. Nothing Dominique could ever do was good enough for Bela and Marta. She didn't work hard enough, she made mistakes, she was weak. And according to Dominique, they weren't even her primary coaches. They hired other coaches to do the day to day work and then fired them before the Olympics so they could get the glory for being a champion's coach.
If you're looking for gossip about the other team members of the Magnificent Seven, you won't find it here. She talks briefly about the other members, but doesn't have any good stories. She did seem to particularly like Jaycee Phelps, Amanda Borden, and Kerri Strug. She was careful not to say anything bad about anyone. Too bad. I wanted stories. I was surprised to realize how isolated she was from the other members of the Olympic team. The Karolyis kept a tight rein on Dominique and Kerri. Plus, being four or more years younger than the rest of the team set her apart.
While I was disappointed by the lack of gymnast gossip, the book vividly described her training and her experience at the Olympics. What seemed like a magical time to the viewers was terrifying to Dominique who knew that - gold medal or not - her father and the Karolyis would only see the slight imperfections of her performance. I cringed through large parts of the book, because Dominique's childhood was so nightmarish.
With all the difficulties of her life, this book could have been full of self-pity, but it wasn't. It was a reflection of a young woman who has come to terms with her past and moved on. She is able to successfully separate her love of gymnastics from the people who made it difficult. She has managed to come to peace with her father but still realizing that his actions were horribly wrong. The Karolyis and USA Gymnastics are the only continued sources of bitterness for Dominique that I noticed.
A good portion of the book deals with Dominique's recent discovery that she has a sister she never knew about. When she was 6 her mother gave birth to a baby with no legs. Unable to care for the little girl, Dominique's parents gave her up for adoption. Dominique tells the story of her sister Jennifer with glowing adulation. While Jennifer seems like a fabulous girl who has thrived despite her physical challenges, I really didn't care. I wanted to know more about Dominique. I did think it interesting that Dominique realized that Jennifer had a much happier childhood than she did by being raised in a different family.
I highly recommend Off Balance for gymnastics fans. It could have used a bit more gossip and a bit less information about Dominique's new-found gossip, but it was still full of inside gymnastics info and gave me a clear look at the difficult life of a very successful girl.
Rating: 4 / 5
xxstefaniereadsxx's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
Dominique Moceanu was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1981. Her family moved to Texas so that she would be able to train with notorious gymnastics coaches Bela and Marta Karolyi. She was a very talented gymnast, earning her place in the 1996 Olympics, alongside another famous name: Kerry Strug. Moceanu went on to have a successful career after the Olympics, and certainly after she got away from the Karolyi gym. I remember watching her during the 1996 Olympics. This was a very good read.
justicepirate's review
4.0
3.75 stars
I have been a lifelong Olympic junkie who will watch various Olympic sports clips from decades ago, watch documentaries, read books, or see the Olympics in general. It has always been a favorite pastime of mine!
Dominique Moceanu was one of my favorite gymnastic Olympians. I loved watching her in the 1996 Atlantic Olympics. She was my favorite from the Magnificent Seven. I had heard she wrote a book when this came out and have been wanting to read it since. It was so great to finally do so.
The only issue I had with this book is that there were times she repeated herself. It wasn't that bad that she did so, but it is why I did not rate this higher than I did.
Dominique talks about her parents from their time in Romania. What a sad experience for her mom especially. I loved learning about her childhood and the hardships she endured.
Of course I knew about Jen Bricker, her legless sister who was given up for adoption by Dominique's parents. I love the story and hope to read her book that recently came out too! She intertwined the story of meeting and talking to Jen in between telling the whole story.
I knew of Nadia Comeneci's issues against Bela and Marta Karoyli and am glad to learn of Dominique's experiences that really go in line with what Nadia has stated for years. Definitely sad how they treated her! I enjoyed learning about her years around them and how they ran their ranch. I am glad that Bela retired this past year (obviously not in the book)!
I wish there were more sweet stories of her romance with her husband Mike. They are really good for one another!
Overall the whole forgiveness of her parents is what is most beautiful here. It shows growth and love overcomes the terrible things she endured.
Dominique has come a long way and continues to speak out against problems within gymnastics in regards to the USA team or abuses towards gymnasts. I love that she works hard. I love following her Instagram account too.
I have been a lifelong Olympic junkie who will watch various Olympic sports clips from decades ago, watch documentaries, read books, or see the Olympics in general. It has always been a favorite pastime of mine!
Dominique Moceanu was one of my favorite gymnastic Olympians. I loved watching her in the 1996 Atlantic Olympics. She was my favorite from the Magnificent Seven. I had heard she wrote a book when this came out and have been wanting to read it since. It was so great to finally do so.
The only issue I had with this book is that there were times she repeated herself. It wasn't that bad that she did so, but it is why I did not rate this higher than I did.
Dominique talks about her parents from their time in Romania. What a sad experience for her mom especially. I loved learning about her childhood and the hardships she endured.
Of course I knew about Jen Bricker, her legless sister who was given up for adoption by Dominique's parents. I love the story and hope to read her book that recently came out too! She intertwined the story of meeting and talking to Jen in between telling the whole story.
I knew of Nadia Comeneci's issues against Bela and Marta Karoyli and am glad to learn of Dominique's experiences that really go in line with what Nadia has stated for years. Definitely sad how they treated her! I enjoyed learning about her years around them and how they ran their ranch. I am glad that Bela retired this past year (obviously not in the book)!
I wish there were more sweet stories of her romance with her husband Mike. They are really good for one another!
Overall the whole forgiveness of her parents is what is most beautiful here. It shows growth and love overcomes the terrible things she endured.
Dominique has come a long way and continues to speak out against problems within gymnastics in regards to the USA team or abuses towards gymnasts. I love that she works hard. I love following her Instagram account too.
beastreader's review
4.0
With the Summer Olympics 2012 fast approaching, this is the perfect time to get to really know a past olympic superstar, Dominique Moceanu in Off Balance. Readers will remember Dominique as she was a member of the 1996 Women's Olympic Gymnastics team known as the "Magnificent Seven". People know Dominique as one of the greatest gymnastics but what people probably don't know about Dominique is the person, mom, wife, sister, and daughter. In Off Balance Dominique shares a personal look at her life growing up, how she discovered her passion for gymnastics, making the olympic team and finding out she had a sister.
This is a great memoir. I tend to usually stay away from memoirs, only because I don't really want to read about other peoples lives unless it is omeone that I really like. Only because if I find out things I do not like or find the bookk to be dry, then it takes away some for me on that person. None of this was the case with this book. I liked that Dominique made sure that the readers got to know her parents as they are an important part of the story. Dominique could have just briefly glossed over who they were and just focused on her gymnastic career but she did not.
Jennifer was great. I like that Dominique was her idol and the reason why she wanted to do gymnastics. I would have liked to get to know her better in this book but what I did get to learn of her, I thought she had a great personality. Wow, what Dominque had to endure during her grueling training sessions with Bela Karolyi was amazing. It paid off in the end. Although, a sad time for someone as young as Dominique to have to deal with for a coach, even if he was one of the best. I read this book in one sitting. Off Balance scores gold!
This is a great memoir. I tend to usually stay away from memoirs, only because I don't really want to read about other peoples lives unless it is omeone that I really like. Only because if I find out things I do not like or find the bookk to be dry, then it takes away some for me on that person. None of this was the case with this book. I liked that Dominique made sure that the readers got to know her parents as they are an important part of the story. Dominique could have just briefly glossed over who they were and just focused on her gymnastic career but she did not.
Jennifer was great. I like that Dominique was her idol and the reason why she wanted to do gymnastics. I would have liked to get to know her better in this book but what I did get to learn of her, I thought she had a great personality. Wow, what Dominque had to endure during her grueling training sessions with Bela Karolyi was amazing. It paid off in the end. Although, a sad time for someone as young as Dominique to have to deal with for a coach, even if he was one of the best. I read this book in one sitting. Off Balance scores gold!
sarahrhea745's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
strawfly14's review
4.0
3.5/5. La escritura es bastante simple, pero conocer la historia de Moceanu ha sido interesante. La conocía por antiguos vídeos y por haber visto la repetición de sus JJOO (Atlanta 96'), y este libro me ha servido para saber más acerca de lo que vivió hasta poder llegar a su ansiada medalla de oro. Libro interesante que pone en entredicho los métodos de los Karolyi (con los que unas gimnastas están de acuerdo y otras en desacuerdo), además de cuestionar el funcionamiento de USA Gymnastics y el trasfondo político que ésta tiene. Interesante ver el punto de vista de una gimnasta que, según cuenta, recibió tanto abusos físicos como verbales. Por desgracia, algo que se escucha bastante comúnmente dentro de este deporte que tanto me gusta. Además de su historia con la gimnasia, también nos habla secreta, Jennifer, a quien conoció a la edad de 21 años. Sus padres la dieron en adopción al nacer ya que por una malformación genética nació sin piernas y, paradójicamente, su crecimiento fue mucho más feliz que el de Dominique y su hermana. Es un buen libro autobiográfico.